Chapter 46 (1/2)
The dragonhead spartoi concentrated their firepower on Choi Hyuk. During this time, Ryu Hyunsung’s troop were able to execute the charge with Lee Jinhee taking the lead.
Clang! Cras.h.!.+
Though loud sounds could be heard, they weren’t effective. The spartoi were born from the High Dragon Barhaloleun’s bones. Their bodies were built of a material that was very reactive to karma, dragon bones.
“I can’t make a dent!”
Lee Jinhee shouted as she swung at the spartoi with agile movements. There wasn’t a significant result. When she tried to ignore the spartoi in front of her and jump over them, a karma arrow would fly over and block her like a ghost. She had no choice but to go through them, but there was no way to do so.
Chu Youngjin put away his red sword and took out another one to attack the spartoi. He was worried it might get damaged.
“This l.u.s.ter! No matter how I look at it, it looks like karma’s been applied? So, from the start, their bodies and the equipment they use are made of the same material. Their bodies are no different from karma-reinforced s.h.i.+elds.”
“Then what do we do?”
Lee Jinhee asked. She avoided the swinging spear of a spartoi and slashed down at its wrist. There was only a slight scratch.
Baek Seoin replied.
“Jinhee. Try that!”
“What?”
“That Wind Void…”
“Wind Void Wave?”
“Yeah, Void Wave! Use that!”
Lee Jinhee’s mind seemed to light up at his words. If their bodies were like karma-reinforced s.h.i.+elds like he said, then didn’t she just have to blow it away?
The skill she created a few days ago, Wind Void Wave. It was a skill that was even able to blow Choi Hyuk’s karma away.
Clench.
Lee Jinhee applied power to her dantian. Her karma started to coil into spirals. At some point, the spirals, which had been coiled to the extreme, had transformed into a whirlwind.
“Eat this!”
She rushed into a spartoi’s bosom and stuck her left hand out. The whirlwind that started from her dantian made its way up her arm and smashed into the monster’s chest. Wind blasted out from the spartoi’s chest.
Pashashasha!
Although the spartoi flinched, it didn’t move back a single step. From the beginning, it wasn’t a skill with much destructive power. The skill’s motive was to push away the karma on its outer layer.
“The l.u.s.ter is gone!”
Baek Seoin yelled in delight as he ran towards her. His sword s.h.i.+ned with karma and,
Zzong!
A fracture appeared on the spartoi’s body.
“That’s good.”
Chu Youngjin rushed in, not losing his chance.
“Bisect!”
Crackle!
Along with the activation of his skill, he used his own particular method to explode his karma.
Crack!
Although, because of the high endurance of the bones, he wasn’t able to sever its neck, he was still able to break 1/3 of it. They had finally left a significant blow.
“Leader! It’s Wind Void Wave!”
Lee Jinhee shouted refres.h.i.+ngly with karma imbued in her voice. Loud enough for all 5,000 people to hear.
It was Baek Seoin’s role to be embarra.s.sed.
‘What on Earth… is Wind Void Wave?’
He couldn’t help but be astonished at the immaturity of her naming sense.
Anyways, her worrying about Choi Hyuk was pointless. As he had already come to that conclusion by himself.
The karma arrows seemed as if they were trying to force Choi Hyuk to submit. Choi Hyuk fiercely wielded his karma in retaliation, but that was all. He couldn’t advance forward. He was in a situation where if he didn’t give up and retreat, his safety was at risk. However, he didn’t retreat.
Trials were like this. Although there were times when going around could be faster, there were also times where you would never break through once you failed to break through the first time. Your most fierce attempt would be your first. Therefore, if you couldn’t do it the first time, you wouldn’t be able to do it the next. With that in mind, Choi Hyuk was striking down the endless barrage of karma arrows.
His karma felt heavier every pa.s.sing moment.
However, he increased his concentration. He believed in himself. His talent would always find a path to victory. What was the one move that could throw all this away? It was this moment when he figured out the answer.
‘Lee Jinhee.’
The surrounding air current changed.
Thump, thump!
His karma heart thumped furiously as it pumped karma. He expanded his barrier and pushed the surrounding attacks further away.
Thump.
This time, he recalled his released karma. He created a spiral in the center of the heart. The air around him distorted.
A whirlwind, no, a storm began to brew with him as the center.
He saw the oncoming karma arrows. If this skill failed, he would undoubtedly die.
‘Though there’s no way I’ll fail.’
He didn’t stop there. He divided the fierce karma storm into smaller parts and added in his unique rhythm. As he did, the different parts started to resonate with each other. Woong, woong, woong. Once the resonance started, it expanded swiftly.
His dantian felt like it was tearing apart.
When he was at the absolute limit of his limits, he pushed the resonance that seemed as if it was about to explode out. He pushed it out through the karma pathway on his right arm.
“Leader! It’s Wind Void Wave!”
He heard Lee Jinhee’s voice.
‘I know.’
Choi Hyuk smiled, revealing his teeth. An invisible wave exploded from his right hand.
…
Sound disappeared from the battlefield. The resonance of the storm, which was compressed to its utmost limits, blew away the air as it covered the whole battlefield. The l.u.s.ter on the bodies of the spartoi disappeared as did the karma on Lee Jinhee’s short swords.
The arrows flying towards Choi Hyuk either scattered or went off course and embedded into the red ground.
It was as if time had stopped. Both the humans and spartoi froze at the drastic change that silently overcame them.
The first to move was Choi Hyuk.
Thump!
He had overtaxed his karma heart to its limit, however, he gathered his strength once more. Along with a numbing pain.
Swish.
A 5-meter-long karma blade appeared. His karma and body were both at their limits.
“Euaahhhh!”
Choi Hyuk shouted to prevent himself from fainting.
Crakakakak!
The spartoi that blocked his path had their waists sliced and their upper bodies scattered in the air.
Like a lion, Choi Hyuk leaped over the spartoi and attacked the dragonhead spartoi behind them. It seemed that in exchange for their high offensive power, the dragonhead spartoi lacked strong defense as he was able to cut them without imbuing his sword with karma. Pieces of bone scattered into the air.
“Wah… d.a.m.n… I hate him.”
Lee Jinhee pouted as she pierced holes into the bodies of spartoi, which had lost their l.u.s.ter. She felt as if her skill was stolen.